Some calculable contributions to entanglement entropy

Entanglement entropy appears as a central property of quantum systems in broad areas of physics. However, its precise value is often sensitive to unknown microphysics, rendering it incalculable. By considering parametric dependence on correlation length, we extract finite, calculable contributions t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hertzberg, Mark Peter, Wilczek, Frank
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: American Physical Society 2011
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/64626
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3850-3688
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6489-6155
Description
Summary:Entanglement entropy appears as a central property of quantum systems in broad areas of physics. However, its precise value is often sensitive to unknown microphysics, rendering it incalculable. By considering parametric dependence on correlation length, we extract finite, calculable contributions to the entanglement entropy for a scalar field between the interior and exterior of a spatial domain of arbitrary shape. The leading term is proportional to the area of the dividing boundary; we also extract finite subleading contributions for a field defined in the bulk interior of a waveguide in 3+1 dimensions, including terms proportional to the waveguide’s cross-sectional geometry: its area, perimeter length, and integrated curvature. We also consider related quantities at criticality and suggest a class of systems for which these contributions might be measurable.